An opportunity comes along...

It is great, but you are unsure if to take it.

What do you do?

Maybe you might regret not taking it? Or maybe not?

Regret Minimization can help: Imagine yourself as an old person. Would not taking this opportunity haunt you till you die?

If it would haunt you, it is worth a shot.

Do you play an infinite game?

Or are you a finite player?

If you have decided to play the infinite game, you do what you do for the sake of doing it.

If you are a finite player, you play for money, or positions or to finally enter pension.

Paradoxically, the more you focus on the process, the better the results.

Find or create your infinite game.

You have this premonition about something...

The message finally comes in...

And it is as you expected!

The rage takes over. You jump into action.

An hour later you reread the message for good measure.

Oh, wait, you misread, it isn't like you thought.

Often we are biased and initially see what we expect to see. Always read information with an emotional connotation to it thrice. Always...

Do others make decisions for you?

Why do you let them?

Why do you accept it?

Why does it happen?

Making decisions is a core skill of life. Not just in business.

If you are not able to make decisions, others will make them for you.

Decisions made by others however will not respect your wishes.

Go make those decisions.

How do you deal with serious situations?

Do you emanate gravitas?

Do you act quickly?

Do you act decisively?

It is crucial to realise a grave situation quickly and to ensure your team feels you taking it on.

Nothing is worst than dillydallying in the face of a threat.

Are you unhappy with your performance?

Did you do it for someone else's benefit?

Is that someone else happy with it?

Did you even ask?

Often, when we do a job for someone else, we don't stop to consider if they are happy or unhappy.

Go ask, you might be surprised.

#familybusiness #expectations #dailythoughts

Do you prepare thoroughly?

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin

"Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small." - Sun Tzu

"All things are ready, if our mind be so." - William Shakespeare

"I will prepare and some day my chance will come." - Abraham Lincoln

Luck is where opportunity meets preparation. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

If you did not, I hope you do now.

Written communication is king!

Are you sure?

What could you possibly miss in a good email onslaught?

Usually, written communication is to be preferred. But, you can miss vital information.

How someone reacts, tone of voice or general vibe...

You also miss opportunities to listen and act between the lines.

Rather have one meeting too much, than one too little.

We all love meetings...

if they are unmoderated.

if they lack an agenda.

if someone is holding a monologue.

if people are not paying attention.

if no one is keeping protocols.

When you host a meeting, make sure to:

Have a facilitator, a clear agenda, select who needs to be there and write protocols.

Recovering from a setback...

can be a nightmare.

Do you get infuriated by setbacks?

Do they drag on for you?

Some setbacks can take substantial time to recover from.

It is pointless to fret about the trajectory of recovery.

What helps is to look at previous setbacks. You managed them also. How did you recover? And what can you apply to your current setback?

Well, this was horrible...

Well, this was awesome...

Do you connotate experiences and events?

Positive vs Negative.

In nature, there is nothing that is purely good or evil. It is a human concept.

Anything that happens has upsides and downsides.

Life is balanced.

Waited in line for something lately?

How do you deal with it?

Do you get impatient, angry or nervous?

Do you have control over what you had to wait for?

Usually, you do not and by venting your emotions you will slow it down.

Patience is a highly underrated skill. So next time you wait in line, take a few deep breaths. And be prepared, bring a book, a podcast or whatever you enjoy.

Use the opportunity to take a break.

Do you use scenario planning?

In contracting, do you think ahead of possible disputes?

Do you try to imagine all the things that could go wrong?

Do you visualize how you will react?

Scenario Planning, a military tool, has multiple applications. Thinking ahead is a powerful mindset. It can save you a lot of hassle.

Did you just lose a friendship?

What happened?

Did you end it, did your friend end it or did it just die quietly?

Some friendships come and go. Some stay forever.

Some friendships form for a reason and others for a season.

It is the way of life. Mourning a lost friendship is ok.

There are more out there, waiting for you.

Two crappy pages a day.

How much do you need to progress?

How good is your first draft?

This applies to anything in life.

This is all you need to reach any goal. Daily work on your projects.

Mastery comes with time, so don't fret about those initial crappy pages.

Thank you Tim Ferriss

Some things are just so damn frustrating!

Knowing what should be done, but not being able to do it.

Knowing why things are the way they are, but not being able to change them.

Being able to solve other people's problems, but not your own.

Knowing what you should stop, but still, you continue.

Life is a paradox and not linear, take it one step at a time.

Do you have authority?

Do you have influence?

Or do you have neither?

Authority is given to you, by your higher-ups or your peers.

Influence you can gain by yourself.

Influence is also known as informal leadership.

As a leader, you need both authority and influence.

You should outsource as much as possible...

But how do you know what is a fair price?

Is someone else cheaper than you to perform the task?

Can they do it at the same speed as you?

Do tasks at least once yourself, to understand what it requires.

Or ask someone you trust, who can tell you.

Otherwise, an outsourced task can become a nightmare.